Protecting nature

There are both legislative and planning tools which help to protect nature conservation interests.

Legislation

The Convention on Biological Diversity (1992) was signed at the United Nations' Earth Summit at Rio in 1992. The objectives are:

• to help protect plants and animals and their habitats
• to encourage the sustainable use of biodiversity
• to share the benefits of biodiversity fairly

To meet these objectives countries are required to produce national biodiversity strategies and action plans for the conservation of biodiversity.

The UK has the UK Biodiversity Action Plan (UK BAP) that describes the UK's biological resources and commits a detailed plan for the protection of those resources. The UK List of Priority Species and Habitats contains 1150 species and 65 habitats that have been listed as conservation priorities. The Devon BAP is Devon’s response to the UK BAP and provides the priorities for conservation in Devon.

There is also a series of European and UK legislation which protects our biodiversity.

See our designated areas page for a summary of their relative importance.